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Rail road Track is NOT Manganese, It is High Carbon Steel. To effectivly weld on the Ball of the Rail you must 1st Fre heat the Ball of the rail to 900F or if you have a Digital Therm. 1000F Prior to welding. E7018 is NOT a high Carbon rod, If the weld is made to a cold Rail, The weld will break off. You can get High Carbon Rail from any Railroad Contracting firm or welding shop. The Manganese you find on Railroads are the Cast Manganese Blocks that are on a SGM "Self Guarded Manganese" Frog where 2 rails cross eachother, Or in most instances they are RBM "Rail Bound Manganese" For welding the Inserts & Points of a frog, Manganese rod is used at about 300A & Then Ground Down to profile.

Thermite Procesures of High Carbon Rail is done the same temps, Cut the rail to a 1.50" opening, There is a Clay Mold & Steel Frame that fits to Make for a casting Mold, after the Molds are set & Fit, The Opening is fit w/ a propane high BTU Torch & Preheated to 1000F+ There is a Crucible "charge that contains Steel, Very Little manganese, & the Charge, The Crucible is lit w/ a High Temp sparkler. Once the Pour is Made & Proper time has elapsed, The forms are broke down, & All the clay is Sheared offf & Then a Profile Grinder is set on the Rail to Form the weld evenly & Then the weld & Rail is covered to let the weld cool Slowly, also a Thermite weld Cannot be made if the Rail ends Have Bolting hols in them, That is a Fracture Point & It will break.

Also If You Scrap for a living, Dont waste your time w/ Manganese Inserts from Railroads, 99% of the yards in the states will NOT Accept it for its a Toxic Material for Scrap yards & They will leave it on your trailers, However if you have the Permits, Rail is HIgh $ at Scrap yards, But BEWARE, FRA & FBI May just Pay you a Visit!